Features Overview
From The SOC Awards 2018 “The Duffer Brothers have very strong ideas and a blueprint for scenes, yet they and Tim Ives, the DP, encourage an environment of collaboration - being a part of that is one of the greatest things for an operator. It is a relationship that I do not take for granted.”
“I am so excited that Stranger Things has been received the way it has. It is not an easy show to shoot, and so all of the hard work, long hours and sacrifices we make are rewarded in the end. I also feel so happy and honored, that the work has been recognized 2 years in a row by the SOC - my peers who understand what it takes.”
“I came to recognize recently, that my work as a camera operator- my approach, style, temperament, and vision, have all come together through the experiences of 30 years of absorbing those same qualities from all of the Operators, DP’s, and Directors I have worked with. The good and the bad. I continue to absorb and learn every single day I’m on a set. I have become a more alert, observant, and tolerant person because of this. I love this job and am grateful for all of the experiences it has afforded me.”
SOC Smooth Operator Article 2/19/2018
Bob Gorelick, SOC
There were two pivotal moments for me at the beginning of my operating career. The first was a conversation I had a with a New York based prop master named, Will Scheck. I was asking Will if he thought that I should try to raise $20,000 in order to buy a used Steadicam. I knew the answer, but self doubt consumed me and I needed an objective view. Will simply said, “You can look at it like this, “Five years from now you’ll either be a struggling camera assistant, or a struggling Steadicam operator. What do you want to be?” Well, that made sense to me and so off I went.
The second moment came from something my Grandmother said which I will explain in more detail. It was 1985 and I had recently taken the Maine Photographic Workshop for Steadicam with Garrett Brown and Ted Churchill. I was pumped and roaring with enthusiasm to embark on my newly discovered path in the film business. But I needed to figure out a way to come up with around $20,000 to buy rig. I was living in New York at the time, and so all I had to do do was get myself across town to the old 23 St. pier where there was a grip supply house called “LEGS” (lighting equipment, grip supplies) which the owner of, Klaus Fischell, was selling his Steadicam Model 2 for $19,000. I was working mostly as a camera loader at the time on small NABET 15 and non-union movies, commercials and music videos, and was barely making ends meet. I remember riding my bicycle across town from 10th St to the pier. Klaus showed me the steadicam and all of the custom parts and cables he had accumulated, which were truly necessary back in those days, as steadicams were barely functioning contraptions on their own. I wanted it, but only had around $5000 in savings. Fortunately for me, Klaus Fischell was willing to take a $1000 hold on the rig and give me 1 month to sort out the rest.
It must have been an act of fate, because during that month, my Grandmother heard from my parents what I was up to and she said, “Well, Bob is due around $25,000 that his Grandfather left for him in his will. It has been tied up in probate, but let me see if I can’t somehow get him his due now, and we can settle up later.” Well, the rest is history.
Thirty years and some 50,000 hours of Steadicam and conventional operating behind me, I am still at it and going strong. I often think back to the early days, and try desperately to maintain the enthusiasm and open mindedness that I had, while tempering the cynicism and stubbornness that comes with years of experience. I believe that it is true that we are only as good as our last shot. Your employers really don’t care what you did 20 years ago. Or 3 days ago. The people you are currently working with want you to perform as though this was your first shot. Every shot deserves our utmost attention and care - even a lock-off. We, as camera operators must take the frame and what is in it, and the way that we set it up and offer it, as something worthy of the time and effort of everyone else who is working on that show. It is a bit of a romance, and also a big responsibility.
When young, up and coming camera operators ask me what does it take to be a good camera operator, I like to say that as complicated a question as that is, I might put it simply by encouraging them to work through the fear of failing and to believe in themselves and their instincts. That is something I learned from operator Ted Churchill, and DP’s like Mike O’Shea, Bruce Surtees and Luciano Tovoli. Try to learn to get past the mechanics and politics on the set and understand the story that the Director trying to tell. If you can bring anything to the table that helps the Director, and therefore the DP with that burden, you will be remembered. As for the art and craft of executing shots, think of the camera as a musical instrument, which you play with feeling and grace. As the SOC saying goes, “we see it first”. But I always try to remember that it is ultimately seen FOREVER. I am happy to say that still, to this day, I am a camera operator. And I am deeply honored to be a member of the SOC.
Respectfully,
Bob Gorelick, SOC